Movable pocketed surface projectile toy



Jan. 3, 1967 s. T. DUNN 3,295,852

MOVABLE POCKETED SURFACE PROJECTILE TOY Filed May 26, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l 0 POINT DEGREE PE RPE NDIGULA R 2 STRAIGHT LINE 5 PARALLELS RIGHT ANGLE MM 4 Q cunve'o LIME/64 TRIANGLE ll l:i

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Jan. 3, 1967 MOVABLE POCKETED SURFACE PROJECTILE TOY Filed May 26, 1964 United States Patent 3,295,852 MOVABLE POCKETED SURFACE PROJECTILE TOY Stephen T. Dunn, 3034 Balboa St., San Francisco, Calif. 94121 Filed May 26, 1964, Ser. No. 370,301 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-115) The present invention generally relates to a toy useful for various age groups and incorporates therein basic aspects of geometry.

It is wellknown that geometry is a foundation for other related sciences and it is also Well-known that children find geometry hard to understand and grasp. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a geometrical toy to enable children of various ages to get acquainted with fundamentals of geometry while using the toy thus enabling such children to more readily understand geometry so that they will be more interested and have less difiiculty when studying geometry in school.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a geometrical toy which incorporates a container-like structure having identical top and bottom transparent members spaced apart by a peripheral wall with a metal ball disposed within the container or envelope formed by the transparent members and peripheral wall. The transparent members are provided with concave or partially spherical inner surfaces on which the metal ball will roll with the bottom transparent member having a plurality of pockets therein with indicia associated thereon for playing various games and enabling various movements of the ball to be observed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a geometrical toy which is simple in construction, highly entertaining and educational, easy to use and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the geometrical toy of the present invention with portions thereof broken away for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view, on a reduced scale, of the geometrical toy with a portion of the base broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the geometrical toy of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse, sectional view of the geometrical toy illustrating the structural details thereof; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 55 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the manner of assembly of the components of the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the nu meral generally designates the geometrical toy of the present invention which is disposed on a pedestal or stand 12 including a base plate 14, an upper base plate 16 and a standard 18 of relatively large dimension which may be constructed of any suitable material such as solid plastic or the like.

The geometrical toy includes a container or envelope structure 20 which includes an upper wall member or top 22 and a lower wall member or bottom 24 which are interconnected by an intermediate member or partition 26 having a thickened peripheral wall 28 forming spaces between the edges of the upper member 22 and lower member 24. The members 22, 24 and 26 are secured in assembled relation by a plurality of fastener bolts 30 which are countersunk into sockets 32 in the upper surface of the upper member 22 and which have countersunk nuts 34 in the lower surface of the lower member 24.

Attached to the upper surface of the bottom member 24 is a sheet of paper or other suitable material designated by numeral 36 on which various indicia may be printed. Also, attached to the central portion of the undersurface of the partition 26 there is provided a circular member 38 of paper or the like with the paper members being bonded to the respective members by any suitable adhesive or the like. Also, the intermediate member or partition 26 is provided with a plurality of apertures 40 extending therethrough with the apertures 40 being arranged throughout the area of the circular paper panel 38. Centrally in the member 26 there is provided a socket 42 which is in the form of a depression or pocket whereby the apertures 40 and the pocket 42 will engage a metal ball 44 held captive between the top member 22 and the intermediate member 26.

The top member 22 is provided with degree indicia 46 on the periphery thereof for indicating the degrees of a circle and the indicia is in the form of a graduated scale and suitable numerical indicia designating the values thereof. Also, all of the components of the structure may be transparent to enable observation of the indicia printed on the paper panels 38 and 36 and any suitable bonding agent 48 may be employed to secure the stand or base 12 to the container or envelope 20.

In actuality, the members 22, 2 4 and 26 are approximately eleven inches in diameter and are portions of a glass or plastic ball having approximately a three and a half foot radius with equal parts being severed from such a ball to form the members 22, 24 and 26. Thus, in actuality, the device may be constructed of only the upper member 22 and the intermediate member 26 with the paper panel 36 being also secured to the bottom surface of the intermediate member 26 if desired.

Various games and indicia may be provided to enable the device to be used in various ways. For example, the apertures 40 may have numerical indicia 50 associated therewith with the member 26 actually having twelve apertures at the members 1-12 may be employed to designate the difference at different apertures and impart a value thereto.

By using the stand illustrated, it will be easy for a child to grasp the toy in order to use his skill and strength to put in orbit the small metal ball. The ball can freely enter or leave the apertures which may be in the form of sockets. By moving the toy in a manner to cause the ball to orbit, the number of orbits of the ball can be counted and the value of the socket or aperture in which the ball falls when it comes to rest may be also counted as a score. In addition to the metal ball orbiting, it also produces a noise as it rolls on the surface of the transparent rigid intermediate member 26. A radial indicating line 52 may be provided on the surface of the intermediate member 26 for providing a starting point for counting the orbits and this line may be scratched on, etched on, painted on or otherwise formed on the surface of the member 26 and may be in the form of an irregularity to provide a definite sound each time the metal ball passes thereover. Other various indicia 54 may be printed on the surface of the paper panel 26 for observation by the child using the device to illustrate various geometrical factors and shapes so that the child may become acquainted with such shapes, configuration and terms.

In using the device, it may, of course, be employed in various manners. For example, two children who can count up to ten can play with the toy as long as they wish and the orbits delivered by each child will determine who is the winner inasmuch as each orbit counted and seen will be considered one point. Of course, more than two children may play and scores may be registered on a suitable pad and bycounting the orbits, small children will gain additional counting knowledge and gain useful practice in the use of numbers.

In addition to childrens interest in the toy from the above standpoint, students also will be very much interested in playing with the toy in connection with geometrical fundamentals and counting not only the orbit points but also counting the points shown for a given geometrical fundamental as these points are designated by the numerical indicia 50 and the pockets 40 which define a rectangular outline. By each child totalling the points gained by the number of orbits of the metal ball due to various manipulations of the toy, he also adds the points gained by positioning of the ball 44 in one of the pockets 40. Of course, if the ball enters the center pocket 42 or stops and rests not in any other pocket, there is no point value for such entry. Then by totalling the points, a Winner may be easily determined. Inasmuch as the ball rolls freely on the surface of the intermediate member 26, it is quite difiicult to pin-point where the ball will stop after it has completed its orbiting. In fact, this will provide an exceptional game for children inasmuch as they cannot control movement of the ball thus teaching them patience as well as interest in educational matter and will introduce a foundation for studying geometry and cultivate memory improvement and eagerness to study as well as enhancing a childs inclination to play together and coordinate hands and body movement in putting the metal ball in orbit.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A ball and pocket toy comprising a top member of generally circular configuration, a bottom member of generally circular configuration, an intermediate partition generally circular in configuration disposed between the top member and bottom member, said partition having a thickened peripheral edge disposed between the peripheral edges of the top member and bottom member, means securing the top member, partition and bottom member together at the peripheral edges thereof, said top member having a concave inner surface generally spherical in nature and having a radius of curvature considerably greater than the radius of the top member, said bottom member and partition having an upwardly facing concave inner surface which are spherically curved about a radius of curvature considerably greater than the radius of the bottom member and partition thereby forming a shallow hollow'interior with the partition being spaced from the bottom member and from the top member, a metal ball rollingly engaging the upwardly facing surface of the partition, said partition having a continuously smooth upwardly facing surface provided with a plurality of apertures extending therethrough forming pockets, a paper member attached to the bottom of the partition forming a closure for the pockets for retaining the ball in one of the pockets, a radially extending indicating means in the form of an irregularity on the upwardly facing surface of the partition for audibly and visually indicating the rolling movement of the ball thereover, said bottom member being provided with a paper member attached to the upper surface thereof having indicia thereon, said top member and partition being transparent to enable observation of the ball and indicia, said bottom member having a pedestal support attached thereto with the pedestal support including a standard and base having a diameter substantially less than the diameter of the partition, top member and bottom member to enable the peripheral edge of the toy to be grasped at opposite sides thereof for manual manipulation, the continuously smooth upwardly facing surface of the partition enabling the ball to roll freely in any direction thereon until coming to rest in one of the pockets.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,858 11/1896 Waddel 273- X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,231,420 4/1960 France. RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS I. BOVASSO, Examinen. 

